Rebel soldiers (who later called
themselves the Patriotic Movement of
Ivory Coast (MPCI) launched a
coordinated, nation-wide attack on
forces loyal to President Laurent
Gbagbo. Loyalist forces held onto the
capital city of Abidjan, but lost
control of the northern cities ofBouake
and Korhogo. Initial reports had former
military dictator General Robert Guei
as the leader of the coup.It was also
reported that he perished in the
fighting. Ivory Coast has seen ethnic
and religious violence since 2000
between northern Muslims (such as Guei)
and southern Christians (such as
President Gbagbo). The government also
claims that rebel reinforcement entered
the country from a bordering nation,
most likely Burkina Faso to the
north.Tensions have increased between
the two West African nations partly as
a result of the status of millions of
migrant Burkina Faso citizens living in
Ivory Coast seeking jobs.A cease-fire
began on Oct. 17, which held until the
last week of November, as government
forces launched a new offensive with
recently acquired helicopters and what
appeared to be a unit of
English-speaking mercenaries.Also, a
new rebel group appeared, seizing
several towns along the western border
with Liberia. This group, calling
itself the Ivorian Popular Movement for
the Greater West, clashed with French
peacekeeping forces that were
attempting to evacuate Europeans from
the area. This Yacouba-based tribal
group, which appears to include some
Liberians, may be connected to one of
the factions involved in the Liberian
Civil War. A second western rebel
group, called the Movement for Justice
and Peace, appears loyal to the late
General Guei.

From January 15 through January 26,
2003, the warring parties met at
Linas-Marcoussis in France to to
negotiate a an end to the war. The
parties signed a compromise deal on
January 26. President Gbagbo was to
retain power and opponents were invited
into a government of reconciliation and
obtained control over the Ministries
for Defense and of the Interior.
Soldiers of the Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS) and 4,000
French soldiers took up positions
separating the warring sides. The
parties agreed to work together on
modifying national identity,
eligibility for citizenship, and land
tenure laws which many observers see as
among the root causes of the conflict.
The civil war was declared over as of
July 4, 2003 when the government and
New Forces militaries signed an "End of
the War" declaration, recognized
President Gbagbo's authority, and vowed
to work for the implementation of the
LMA and a program of Demobilization,
Disarmament and Reintegration
(DDR).

Despite the written agreement, true
reconciliation did not take place, and
in November, 2004, President Gbagbo
ordered airstrikes against the
rebel-held north and hit the city of
Bouaké.. These airstrikes also
hit (supposedly by accident, though
that is questionalble) French forces
who were in the country to enforce the
peace on November 6. In this attack, an
Ivorian Sukhoi Su-25 bombed a French
base in Bouaké, killing nine
French soldiers and an American aid
worker while injuring 31 others. French
forces then responoded with an overland
attack on Yamassoukro Airport,
destroying two Su-25s and three attack
helicopters on the ground, while two
government military helicopters were
shot down over Abidjan. One hour after
the attack on the camp, the French Army
established control of Abidjan Airport.
France flew in reinforcements and sent
three jets to Gabon on standby.

Pro-government demonstators ,
rallied by the pro-government media,
rioted and plundered properties owned
by French nationals. Several hundred
Westerners, mainly French citizens,
took refuge on the roofs of their
buildings to escape the mob, and were
then evacuated by French Army
helicopters. France sent in f 600
troops as reinforcements from their
base in Gabon and from France itself
while foreign civilians were evacuated
from Abidjan airport on French and
Spanish military airplanes. An unknown
number of rioters were killed after
French troops opened fire on the
mobs.

Ivory Coast
Map

After the French-Ivorian
clashes in 2004, the two opposing
Ivorian sides settled into a stalemate,
whicn proved conducive to negotiations,
and on March 4, 2007, a peace agreement
was signed between the government and
the rebel New Forces in Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso. New Forces leader
Guillaume Soro was then appointed Prime
Minister and assumed that office in
early April, 2007. On April 16, in the
presence of Gbagbo and Soro, the U.N.
buffer zone between the two sides began
to be dismantled, and government and
New Forces soldiers paraded together
for the first time. Gbagbo declared
that the war was over.

Scattered violence broke out on
occassion, including an assassination
attempt on Soro, but the agreement held
until a resumption of the civil war in
2011 after a disputed election.